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■ Monitors
Chunghwa to lift LCD price
Chunghwa Picture Tubes Ltd (中華映管) will raise the price of 15-inch liquid-crystal displays next month, a Chinese-language newspaper said, citing Lin Wei-shan (林蔚山), the president of Tatung Co (大同), the company's parent. Chunghwa Picture will lift the price by US$5 to US$10 per unit, the newspaper said, citing Lin. The company may return to profit in the third quarter after incurring a loss in the first half, the report said, quoting the president. The Taipei-based company, which is expected to report second-quarter earnings by the end of next month, had a net loss of NT$4 billion (US$126 million) in the first quarter, according to the figures released by the company.

■ Automakers
VW details Proton offer
Volkswagen AG has proposed buying more than 50 percent of Proton Holdings Bhd, Malaysia's largest carmaker, the Edge weekly magazine said, citing officials it didn't name. Europe's largest carmaker outlined its proposal when meeting with senior officials from Proton and Khazanah Nasional Bhd, the Malaysian government's investment agency that owns 43 percent of Proton, the report said. Hyundai Motor Co, South Korea's largest automaker, is also interested in a strategic alliance with Proton for the Malaysian carmaker's assembly plant and platforms, the report said. Khazanah Nasional said on Friday it doesn't plan to sell any of its 43 percent stake in Proton to Volkswagen. Proton's domestic market share has dropped from 57 percent in 1993 to around 30 percent in June as the government lifted protective tariffs on foreign-made cars due to a regional free trade agreement.

■ Finance
Temasek renews offer
Singapore's Temasek Holdings Pte asked the board of directors at Chang Hwa Commercial Bank (彰化銀行) to reconsider its takeover offer, two Chinese-language newspapers reported yesterday, citing unnamed board directors at the Taiwanese lender. Morgan Stanley, Temasek's financial adviser, sent a letter to Chang Hwa's directors on Friday, seeking to explore possibilities of taking control of the lender, the two business dailies said. Temasek's move came after Taishin Financial Holding Co (台新金控) on July 22 won a bid to buy 1.4 billion new preferred shares of Chang Hwa, which upon completion of the transaction would make it the biggest shareholder. Temasek is Singapore's state-owned investment company. It was reported to be one of five potential bidders for the stake in Chang Hwa.

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